-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When 81-year old Cecilia Gimenez took it upon herself to restore a flaking century-old fresco of Jesus on her local church 's wall in Spain last year , she was treated to an international lambasting like only the Internet makes possible .

Her work , which would have looked more at home on a proud parent 's fridge door than on a house of worship , spawned memes , merchandise and even a Pinterest board of alternative `` restorations . ''

But things have taken a turn for the better , with the `` Monkey Jesus '' depiction , as it has become known , drawing tourists to the town of Borja in the thousands .

The church , which started charging people to see the mural , has raised â ‚ ¬ 50,000 -LRB- $ 72,500 -RRB- for a local charity from 70,000 visitors , according to local news site Heraldo.es -LRB- Spanish only -RRB- .

Local restaurant and bar owners say business is booming and there are plans to produce official lines of merchandise including plates , postcards and cigarette lighters , with the proceeds split between Gimenez and the local council .

Gimenez , who has sold artwork on eBay , even opened her own art exhibition in Borja this week , displaying pieces that suggest she is not totally devoid of talent .

`` I am happy ... people are being very nice , '' she told The Telegraph . `` There are people who supported me a lot and I am very happy because of that . ''

Her exhibition runs until August 24 .

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Cecilia Gimenez 's `` restoration '' attempt was widely mocked

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To date , 70,000 tourists have traveled to see the paint job

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Plans afoot to launch merchandise including postcards and cigarette lighters